Vultures #1

Years ago, a neighbor built their house on the bluff of the mountain, overlooking the valley.  Their house had a view of three counties.  They had designed the house so that their breakfast nook had a view of the outdoors.  One morning at breakfast, they noticed an old, dead tree on the cliff outside the window.  It looked majestic.  One morning, vultures were sitting in a tree.  Not one, not two, but multiple.  She said she felt like she was in a scene from “The Jungle Book”.  She asked her husband to cut down the tree.

As we moved further into winter, I noticed a large number of buzzards in dead trees as I drove to work.  One afternoon, there were 12 or 13 in one tree on my way home.  These birds are not dangerous. They’re just looking for food like any other animal.  It’s just that their food is not very pleasant.  Buzzards, vultures, are scavengers.  They eat animals that have already died.  They are nature’s custodians.  They clean up after someone runs over an animal on the road, after an old animal dies, or after a predatory animal has finished with their prey.  They clean up.

A recent comic strip I saw, showed a father vulture explaining to his sons their job.  He told them to fly around looking and smelling for dead or dying animals.  Then sit and wait until they can fly in and eat.  I began thinking about how Satan works.

Satan has his “angels” who stalk around the world watching for the sick, wounded, hurt, discouraged, waiting to pounce, to come to the “rescue” (devour). I Peter 5:8 tells us to, “Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a lion, seeking someone to devour.”  In Matthew 24, Jesus tells us to be alert. He speaks of false prophets.  He warns in verse 28, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” He is comparing the false prophets, the devil, to vultures seeking out the lost like dead carcases.  We must be careful when looking for help in our worldly situations.  Who do we trust? Where do we go for help? In Luke 12, Jesus tells his disciples not to worry.  In verse 24, He tells them to “consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable are you than birds?” He’s telling us not to seek worldly solutions, but to seek God, and He will provide.

The world is full of self-help books. TV, social media influencers telling us their way is the way. False prophets telling us God wants us to have our “Best” lives now. They are the vultures waiting to pounce.

I John 4:1-3, “Do not believe every spirit.”  Rather, Proverbs 3:5-9, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.”

So, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)